First Community Church 03.17.24 Glen Miles -Sermon, Teach Me

This Sunday's sermon, "Teach Me," is part 5 in our Lent sermon series, Wandering Heart, and is based on Jesus' well-known response to how often we should forgive. As you may recall, he said, "Seventy times seven." Or, the Greek is a bit unclear in the text, he may have said, "Seventy-seven times." Either way, it is a huge number, much greater than what any of us would typically do. Jesus' point is not about math. It is about the nature of forgiveness, and the role grace plays when forgiveness is needed. And we all need forgiveness at some time in our lives. Stanley Hauerwas, a brilliant theologian who seems to irritate evangelical and progressive Christians equally (and who is also one of my all-time favorite thinkers), says, "The forgiveness that marks the church is a politics that offers an alternative to the politics based on envy, hatred, and revenge." He wrote those words back in 2006, but it feels like his idea applies to us today, doesn't it? This sermon has been a challenge to write. I've enjoyed the opportunity to wrestle with it, though, and I am hopeful it will be a good word for our day. I'm looking forward to sharing it with you on Sunday at 9 am in Grace Hall at FC North, 10 am in the sanctuary at FC South, or 11 am in the sanctuary at FC North. The music, as always, will be wonderful this weekend at all three services. Bring a friend, sit near the front, and come prepared to experience a fresh wind of the Spirit, no matter which service you attend!